Creditors call for 3 bln euros of measures
Negotiations between Athens and its creditors are “at their most difficult and unstable point,” Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis argued on Wednesday, while European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure warned that finding the balance between the two sides will “take time.”
Sources say that the two sides are sticking to their so-called “red lines,” with the problems now centered around finding budget measures to save 3 billion euros this year and labor and social security reform.
“At this point it is necessary that we all help out for the negotiation to draw to a close,” said Varoufakis, while Coeure noted that “the new government has a very different program and that will take time.”
The creditors insist that Greece will require additional measures of 3 billion euros to reach a minimum primary surplus level of 1.1-1.2 percent of gross domestic product, otherwise the 2015 budget will post a primary deficit of 0.5-0.75 percent of GDP.
